At the start of the year, we sent a teacher - Brett Robinson, to South Africa to volunteer in a school. He had an amazing time whilst he was away; check out his account to see where his adventures in South Africa took him...

Week 1:

During my time with Real Gap Experience, I volunteered on the Schools and Development project. The first couple of days spent at Simons Town High School have been absolutely fab. We were given the absolute warmest of welcomes by the head teacher and other school...

At the start of the summer we sent our mate Cristina (from the other side of the office) to our Safety Course so she could check it out. She was due to head to Hondrus solo, and was slightly nervous about travelling alone. Check out how she got on below!

Hola! My name is Cristina; I have just come back from the experience of a lifetime in Honduras. I have spent a month working for a nursery in a small village on the northern coast of Honduras. Before leaving I was quite nervous, especially as...

The Thailand Experience is legendary around these parts, and when the lovely Ollie, a guy who works for our sister company JCA wanted to jump on board, it was an offer we couldn't refuse. Last month he headed out on an adventure of a lifetime, so when he got back (and admittedly, was a little depressed to be sitting back at a desk rather than on the beach) - we thought we'd ask him how he got on.

And to show you all that the New Zealand Experience is one of the best adventures that the world has ever seen, here's 12 reasons why the place is a massive dreamboat/you should literally all go on this trip, now.

1) You haven't travelled until you've seen New Zealand

New Zealand is just.... perfect. We properly fangirl after it in the Real Gap office; half of us will say outright that it's our favourite country. Heck, RG's Louisa wants to move there, except.... she's...

HEY THERE, BEAUT. We've been wanting to suss you out for ages, but it just didn't seem possible. You were too 'out there'. Too undiscovered. But now, it's time.

ALRIGHT LAOS?!

We're so excited to launch our brand new adventures, especially as it's been a firm country favourite of the Real Gap Experience team for absolute donkeys (you can barely shut Louisa up about her time out there. It's properly runs deep, y'know?)

So after a bit of badgering, a bit of investigating and after spending months...

As Nikki is brand new to the Real Gap Experience family, we decided to quiz her on her six months in South America, which she did last year. It's safe to say that all of us who haven't been to South America before are now desperate, and those that have want to go again!

Your biggest must do in South America?

The Inca Trail – spending 4 days trekking through cloud forests, sub-tropical forests and mountain landscapes was both physically and mentally tiring, but the views were absolutely...

You may think, “safety” oh, this is a blog for the parents… and yes, it is important for them to read through, but in actual fact, you are the one who will be travelling, you are the one who will have to think on their feet if you get into any sticky situations and it will be you who is peeling profusely if you get super sunburnt somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere!

There are load s of forums and blogs you can read to give you great travel tips, but sometimes you can feel like you’re...

Thailand is one of our favourite places in the whole wide world, so we thought we'd introduce you to a member of the RG team who makes trips like the Thailand Experience possible. It's time to meet Bee, one of our awesome guides!

Want to take part in the Thailand Experience? Find out more over on the Real Gap website. Best news yet, book on to the 19th September 2015 date and book on for £699!

The variety of this trip really interested me and the fact that the project was so hands on was great! You truly got to experience “reserve life” and got to know the animals, staff and children well.

Highlight?

How could I choose?! Seeing Tafika the black rhino on her 4 month birthday, dancing with the locals during a traditional Shona culture evening, meeting amazing people, having Tatenda the rhino living right next door... the list goes on!